If you live and create art in the Okanagan and you are interested in eco art, then Vivarium 1, a project of The University of British Columbia’s Eco Art Incubator, is interested in you.
Fifteen regional artists will be selected to participate in a four day practicum June 7 to 10 in Kelowna.
Previous experience in eco art is not necessary but a willingness to collaborate and work with the Okanagan’s natural landscape is. The focus of the workshop will be Scar Sites. The fragile skin and body of Knox Mountain Park in Kelowna will be explored with naturalists, recreational users, indigenous knowledge keepers, archival records, as well as walks and visits.
Artists will work in small groups and with internationally renowned eco art curator Beth Carruthers. At the end of the four days, each group will create a proposal or vision for an eco art work and, on the last day, will present this proposal or vision in a public site on Knox Mountain.
The Eco Art Incubator may commission a work from this process. If so, parameters, remuneration and timelines would be negotiated. Vivarium 1 will also be documented in film.
Each selected artist will receive an honorarium of $300 for participating in Vivarium 1. All materials, lunches, and talks are included in the workshop.
Lead facilitator Beth Carruthers is a Vancouver-based philosopher and artist whose interests and concerns include the role of aesthetic engagement in ethical human-world relations as well as the role of the designed and built environment in social-environmental change. Carruthers works internationally as a consultant and curator in the area of arts, culture and sustainability as well as lectures widely.
Please send a one-page letter detailing your relationship to the Okanagan Valley, your interest in eco-art, and confirmation you can attend from June 7 to 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, along with a CV.
Send applications to shauna.oddleifson@ubc.ca by May 4.
If you have any questions, contact nancy.holmes@ubc.ca or denise.kenney@ubc.ca or phone 250-807-9369.
The Eco Art Incubator (http://ecoartincubator.com/) is a SSHRC-funded initiative of the University of British Columbia. Vivarium 1 is also funded and supported with an Arts, Culture, and Heritage grant from the City of Kelowna.
